reporting that the combined Social Security retirement and disability trust funds will be depleted in the fiscal year 2029—five years earlier than the trustees of the two funds had projected earlier this year in their annual report. Then what? Higher taxes and less deductions.
“I’m stuck between ‘You need to save money’ and ‘You only live once’.” — Will Rogers.
As a result, the CBO is expecting that Social Security benefits will need to be cut by 31% beginning in 2031 if no changes are made to the program. The Social Security Trust Fund had previously projected a 21% reduction beginning in 2034. The CBO estimates that the disability trust fund will be “exhausted” by 2028 and that the Old Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund—commonly known as Social Security—would be exhausted by 2033. By the way, by 2035, the U.S. will be considered a nation of old people. The Long-Term Care Partnership Program rewards the purchase of long- term care insurance by protecting assets equal to the long-term care benefits paid when Medicaid is accessed. Without a partnership- certified plan, Medicaid will pay benefits only after most assets are spent down. (Applicants under age 76 must purchase an age-appropriate inflation benefit to have a partnership plan.) The idea is that private insurance pays first, then Medicaid acts as a safety net by picking up the back end with unlimited benefits as long as you meet the functional or cognitive deficiencies required by the state to pay for long-term care. Keep in mind… Every dollar not paid by Medicaid is a dollar that can stay in the state budget for education, public safety, jobs, and other vital services that we all care deeply about. Not only does this program help state budgets, but it also provides the family with private-pay choices as long as possible. You are really choosing between paying a long-term care insurance premium which leaves dollars in the state budget or not buying LTC insurance, which diverts state budget dollars to Medicaid instead of
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